


Lovebytes

by ThreeBulletNecklace



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amanda Fucking Palmer, Character Development, Eventual Romance, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting to Know Each Other, Humor, Indie Music, Meet-Cute, Musical References, Online Friendship, Online Relationship, Online Romance, Romance, Self-Introspection, Social Anxiety, Social Media, Tags Are Hard, victoria is in there if you squint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:53:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29965962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeBulletNecklace/pseuds/ThreeBulletNecklace
Summary: When Max, a 17-going-on-18-year-old social introvert, meets a user named BlueMorpho420 on a music forum, she can't help but be drawn in by the enigmatic Blue - and discovers they have a lot of things in common. Max reaches out to them, and the pair form a fast friendship, as well as - maybe - something much more...
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 14
Kudos: 27





	Lovebytes

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy.
> 
> Thanks as ever to my beta reader/editor r_darkstorm for being endlessly patient while I took forever to get this thing up and running.

**Lovebytes **

It began, perhaps inevitably, on a forum. 

Specifically, a small, fan-run forum for discerning connoisseurs of independent musical artists. 

A haven for hipsters, one might say. 

Max scrolled down the page, her eyes flicking quickly across the text in front of her. She had been reading a single thread for a solid half hour now: what had been a simple post from someone expressing their appreciation of Amanda Palmer's _In My Mind_ had rapidly descended into an intense debate, with one person insisting Palmer was "objectively overrated", and a second person intent on defending her, rather passionately. 

After several heated comments, Max had reached the bottom of the last page - although at the rate the debate was going, it wouldn't be the last page for long. The latest comment in the ongoing argument had been written by the defender, and read as such:

**BlueMorpho420, 16:47, 07/07/2013:**

_Dude, ur moving the fuckin goalposts again. It doesnt matter how many copies the last album sold. U cant say something is OBJECTIVELY overated when like, every piece of art is SUBJECTIVE ya ding dong. I like it, so that automatically proves u wrong as well, biatch._

Max inwardly chuckled. She had very much been enjoying BlueMorpho420's posts, even if they frequently went in for personal attacks and had pretty atrocious spelling and grammar. And of course, as an Amanda Palmer fan herself, she was definitely in BlueMorpho420's corner. 

She refreshed the page, curious to see if the person arguing against Blue had responded in the time it had taken Max to catch up with the debate. 

They had. It wasn't pretty. 

Max scanned what they had written, a frown knitting her brows together as she read. The person - named InMyChaseSpace - had abandoned the topic at hand entirely and cast a number of aspersions against Blue's character, mostly concentrated on the conspicuous 420 on the end of their username. 

Max rolled her eyes. While she wasn't one for getting dragged into online arguments - she was far too non-confrontational and awkward for that, even with the anonymity of the Internet at hand - but she couldn't stand to see Blue slandered, in her opinion, in such a blatant way. 

On an impulse, she clicked the little mail icon under Blue's username. A private message screen popped up, and after a couple of minutes trying to decide what to write, she began typing. 

**MadMax69, 16:59, 07/07/2013**

_Hey so, you don't know me, but I've been reading the thread between you and InMyChaseSpace. He (or she) sounds like an asshole, and tbh I'm in your corner. Plus, you like AFP, so you're obviously a cool person in my books :-)_

Max only hesitated over the send button for a second, and then firmly and decidedly clicked her mouse. She didn't know why she felt a sudden pang of nervousness, odds were that Blue wouldn't even reply. 

She put the thought from her mind, and went to make a coffee. 

However, when she returned, freshly brewed espresso in hand, a small red '1' hovered over her own mail icon. Max's heart rate increased by an increment as she lowered herself back into her chair and settled herself in front of her laptop. Was it Blue? Had they replied? 

They had. 

**BlueMorpho420, 17:08, 07/07/2013**

_Yo, i dont know u either but ur agreeing w me so clearly ur a better person then douchey mcdouchechase yknow? And I know its not exactly unpopular to like afp, especially on here, but I gotta applaud ur musical choices. What else u into?_

Max smiled. Her impulse message had clearly struck the right tone and subject matter for Blue, whoever they were, to bother answering. Hell, they had even chosen to keep the conversation going by asking about her musical tastes. 

The smile she had been sporting continued to exist as she composed her reply. 

**MadMax69, 17:19, 07/07/2013**

_I'm way into Syd Matters, and bands like Sparklehorse, or Jose Gonzalez, alt-J. Stuff like that. How about you?_

Max bit her lip. The message felt a little short, but she clicked send anyway. 

This time, she stayed glued to the screen, refreshing every now and then in the hope of receiving a reply. 

It probably wasn't something a seventeen-soon-to-be-eighteen year old would normally do, especially on a weekend, no. Other young adults her age would usually be out socialising, hanging around malls, sneaking out to indulge in some underage drinking. Or at least, that's what movies and social media had taught her. But Max had never been one for "typical" teenage behaviour. Sure, there had been a small rebellious streak when she was fifteen, but the extent of that had been going to the movies without telling her parents and subsequently complaining in her journal when they had admonished her about the lack of contact. 

Max sometimes wondered if they were at all concerned about her extremely visible lack of social life, but she usually assumed they were just grateful the chances of her getting arrested or falling in with the wrong crowd or getting addicted to drugs were slim-to-none. Besides, they were out that night, so she didn't need to worry about it. 

Her thoughts about her own social awkwardness were interrupted by the appearance of another little message notification. Max hurriedly clicked it, anxious to read Blue's response. 

**BlueMorpho420, 17:32, 07/07/2013**

_Ohmygod your a fukn hipster! Sorry. That sounded bad. Wat i meant was ur taste is hella indie and that's cool yo. Im into Firewalk, Daughter, obvs AFP. Stuff like that yknow. So a lil heavier than u. Tho im not gonna say my taste is better or whatev, that would be a total dick move._

Max found herself smiling again, even though Blue seemed amused at her taste in music. She had entertained the notion before because of her interest in vintage things, analogue photography and general lackadaisical attitude towards anything popular, but it was still an odd feeling to have someone else declare her status as: hipster. 

Still, something inside her already valued Blue's opinion, and she found that hearing them express approval over her subjective opinions on art-related mediums was something she had been wanting since the second she had listed some of her preferred artists. 

**MadMax69, 17:35, 07/07/2013**

_That's me, queen of the hipsters! Bow down before the almighty Mad Max. I've heard of Firewalk before but never listened. I might give them a try!_

She pressed send, humming to herself at her newly claimed 'Queen of the hipsters' title. She had also been completely honest about trying out Firewalk; as much as Max tended to ignore 'mainstream' things, she tried to always have an open mind to trying new things, especially if it was music. 

Not two minutes later, Blue replied. Max couldn't help but grin. Blue was clearly doing the same as herself: sat next to their laptop or phone or desktop or whatever, waiting for replies to come through. With a growing amount of excitement, Max opened the message. 

**BlueMorpho420, 17:37, 07/072013**

_Queen huh? I like queens. Queens are badass. Queen Mad Max. That shit has a nice ring to it (im also asuming your a girl. Not tryna be nosy, just guessing). Also I gotta ask. The 69 on ur name. Whats up with that, and can i say_ **_nice_ ** _?_

Max blushed as she read the last part, even though no one was there to see her slight embarrassment. As for the first part of Blue's message, she hesitated before replying. She knew it was only her gender, but giving out information about herself to people online - especially people she really didn't know - had always given her pause. Still, something about Blue told her to keep talking. 

**MadMax69, 17:41, 07/07/2013**

_You're right, I am a girl. Though I bet you couldn't tell just from my username. And the 69 is, well, not quite a 'nice'. Mad Max was already taken as a username so the 69 just got added on automatically. What about you? That 420 is "high"ly obvious._

As she finished typing the message, Max couldn't help but smile proudly at her pun game. She had a feeling Blue would like it. 

**BlueMorpho420, 17:45, 07/07/2013**

_Yo that fukin PUN. And yeah, I'm hella into getting stoned off my ass lol. And no, couldnt tell from your username. But yea. Girls rule_ (here, Blue had inserted a gif of Alan Rickman as Snape saying "Obviously") _. I should know, am also Cool Girl._

Max's grin was uncontrollable. Usually, people groaned at her puns. Having someone appreciate them - even if it was a random stranger on an obscure, tiny music forum - felt good. 

Still grinning, her fingers flew over the keyboard of her laptop as she typed out a reply. And then, when Blue replied, fast as lightning, typed out another. 

And another. 

And _another._

Before long, most of the evening - except for a half hour self-enforced break from her laptop so Max could wolf down dinner - had flown by. It quickly became apparent her and Blue shared a great many similar interests besides music: they talked in-depth about art and photography, their taste in movies (they were delighted to discover both shared _Blade Runner_ as one of their favourites), and many other subjects. 

It was two in the morning - and long after her parents had come home - when Max reluctantly dragged herself away from her laptop, leaving a final, apologetic message to Blue saying she should probably get some sleep - though, of course, she waited until Blue had replied with similar sentiments before actually closing down the laptop and getting into bed. 

A thrill ran through her as she covered herself with the duvet. She recognised what it was, even though it didn't happen very often. It was a thrill of connection: a dopamine rush at having made meaningful contact with someone new. For a young woman as socially awkward as Max, something like this was rarer than gold dust. 

When Max fell asleep, it was with thoughts of what they might talk about the next day racing through her mind. 

* * *

The first thing Max did when she woke up was forcefully yeet her duvet off and rush over to her laptop, anxious to see if Blue had sent anything more overnight. 

She had. 

**BlueMorpho420, 04:36, 7/8/2013**

_Yo hipster girl. Turns out I couldn't sleep. I blame you lol. If I cant sleep i usually get high, but I'm talking to u instead (OK I did get high but that aint the point). I just wanted to say talking with u was awesome. This might be the weed making what's already there hella clear in my brain, but i've never connected with someone so fast, yo. Specially never with a rando (no offense) on the internet. So in the spirit of cooperation or new friendship or whatevs, i'm Chloe Price. Nice ta meetcha._

So Blue's name was Chloe. 

"Chloe." Max said. She rolled the word around in her mouth, already thinking it suited her newfound friend. 

She sat down at her desk, and after thinking for a moment, swiftly typed out a reply. 

**MadMax69, 08:17, 7/8/2013**

_Nice to meet you too, Chloe. And don't worry, I pretty much_ am _a rando on the internet, but a rando that definitely would like to be your friend. My name's Max, btw. Max Caulfield (though feel free to still call me Queen of the Hipsters :D)._

That seemed to be the appropriate level of happy-with-making-a-new-friend-but-not-appearing-obsessed-with-it. Pleased with herself, Max hit 'send', and sat back to wait for Chloe's reply. 

After ten minutes, Max clicked over to YouTube and resumed a video on portrait framing she'd been in the middle of watching. 

After half an hour, she went to make herself her morning coffee, offering a vague morning greeting to her parents on her way downstairs. 

After an hour and a half, Max began to grumble to herself. The rational part of her brain knew that Chloe was most likely still asleep, but the - admittedly tiny - part of her brain that did crave social interaction was mildly affronted Chloe was taking so long. 

Unfortunately for Max's by-now socially-starved brain, it took Chloe most of the day to finally respond. However, when she did, Max was on her reply like a flash. 

**BlueMorpho420, 17:17, 7/8/2013**

_Yo Max sorry for replying way late. Crashed hella hard and slept like 12 hours lol. I blame u (kidding but not really), how dare u be so entertaining to talk to._

Max grinned. Her fingers flew over the keyboard. 

**MadMax69, 18:03, 7/8/2013**

_Hey, I'm not the one who was up at 4.30am messaging a person you just met (well, not_ met _met, but you get what I mean). Because I was sleeping. Y'know, like a normal person. Anyway, you're also guilty of the same crime of being hella entertaining to talk to. I've been refreshing the page all day waiting for you to reply._

Max paused before sending the message, thinking. Did that last part sound too needy or desperate? If it was anyone else, Max would have deleted it and typed something else, but since Chloe had stayed up until the early morning thinking about their ongoing conversation, she supposed it was probably okay to send. 

After only a little hesitation, she clicked send before she could change her mind. 

A response arrived only a few minutes later. 

**BlueMorpho420, 18:10, 7/8/2013**

_Shit, dude, if I knew u were gonna be waitin around all day for me I woulda forced myself to get up lol. Suppose thats most of the day gone too. What have you been up to while I was out cold?_

Was it just her, or was Chloe's spelling, grammar and punctuation a little better than it was before? Max compared the most recent message to the first few: yes, there was definitely a noticeable change. Was Chloe - deliberately or subconsciously - changing the way she 'spoke' to fit in more with Max? Max supposed she didn't really spell things wrong or use many shorthand versions of things, so it was entirely possible Chloe was altering her own way of communicating so Max would see her as someone more similar to herself. 

**MadMax69, 18:13, 7/8/2013**

_Not much. It's a Sunday so that's usually a chill day for me. Watched some YouTube and stuff, drank coffee. Not much to tell, really. I’m kind of …_

Boring? That was the word Max initially wanted to use, but although it was accurate - according to Max - its use suddenly felt disingenuous when talking to Chloe. Max had a feeling Chloe would see it as self-deprecating, and she didn’t seem like the type of girl (woman?) who would want Max to belittle herself.

_Quiet._

That would do.

**BlueMorpho420, 18:18, 7/8/2013**

_Yo, quiet sounds nice. I’ve known like, way too many extroverts and they’re all hella loud. Could be nice gettin to know a quiet person for once. Also, hard yes on the coffee. How do ya have it? I like mine how I like my women, strong as fuck and sweet as hell._

Max did a double take, and re-read the last line several times in a row. Was Chloe being serious? Did she actually like women in a... queer way, or was she just using the age-old coffee comparison as a flippant piece of conversation? 

Max knew she wasn’t straight. That concept had gone out of the window a few years ago when, at the end of a Xena re-run, Max had gone looking for further content, and ran across an _abundance_ of spicy fan-fiction - almost all of which concerned Xena and Gabrielle. Out of curiosity, Max had read a couple of stories, and by the end, felt far too warm, vaguely itchy, and was blushing up a storm. To top it all off, her dreams that night were extremely, well, _vivid_ , leading her to wake up several times covered in hot sweat, among other liquids relating to the body. 

After some … experimentation on the matter, it became clear to Max that, yes, she was at the very least bisexual - not that she had had any physical opportunities to explore that side of her. 

Still, she had to know just what Chloe had meant.

**MadMax69, 18:25, 7/8/2013**

_Tiny bit of cream, no sugar. Though if I’m out, I usually get a cappuccino or espresso. Also, I gotta ask … do you like women? Like, in a non-straight way? Sorry if that’s too personal tho. I just wanted to know because -_

Max hesitated. Should she tell Chloe she was queer herself? She didn’t exactly feel any shame in telling people, she was just a little cautious about mentioning it to random people on the Internet, which Chloe still very much was, even if they had been getting on famously so far. 

“Fuck it.” Max declared. She could always just … not respond if it went poorly.

_\- because I’m, like, pretty queer myself._

Max immediately clicked send before she had any chance to chicken out. No going back now, and nothing to do but wait for Chloe’s reply.

It arrived in record time.

Max took a deep breath in and held it, her cursor hovering over the little red (1) displaying over the digital envelope that indicated her message inbox. She wasn’t sure why she felt quite so nervous. She’d known Chloe for less than twenty-four hours, yet a part of her already valued Chloe’s opinions, not to mention, if Chloe’s reply was negative in nature, it would sadden her to lose a potential friend so soon. 

Max forced herself to relax. She exhaled.

And clicked.

**Author's Note:**

> So I started writing this, like, a year ago? I wasn't kidding when I mentioned in the above note about taking forever to get this fucker going. It was originally just gonna be one big story, but splitting it into chapters felt more natural, as this is one of those fics where I'm just happy to let the characters dictate the story, y'know?
> 
> Anyway, I hope this first chapter was enjoyable to read. Leave a comment if you have any feedback - positive or negative - I try to answer every comment. See you all next time.


End file.
